6/10
Beware of what you wish for
3 July 2011
"Life at the Top" from 1965 is touted as a sequel to "Room at the Top," which it is, but you could watch this without having seen "Room" without much problem.

Joe Lampton (Laurence Harvey) has had his dreams fulfilled - he's married to the boss' daughter (Jean Simmons), he's working for his father-in-law in a high position, and he's managed to squash his lower-class upbringing. However, he's miserable. He's bored out of his mind and angry with his wife, who keeps getting her father to pay for things. When he meets a pretty TV correspondent (Honor Blackman) he perks up.

This is a good movie with an excellent performance by Laurence Harvey, who really picks up where he left off with Joe Lampton, angry, ambitious, resentful, and womanizing. Jean Simmons is in the Heather Sears role, and she's wonderful - beautiful, sensual, and determined to keep her husband despite her own failings. I've always thought Simmons was highly underrated as she was always in competition with Audrey Hepburn and other bigger stars of the day for roles. She is glorious in her British films that she made when she was very young, and of course, Elmer Gantry and Angel Face, to name only two.

Worth seeing, and it answers the question, will Joe Lampton ever find happiness?
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